Sensex closes 80 points down, power discom meet eyed

After stunning performance of the market on Friday, investors opted for profit booking Monday. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 79.49 points to close at 18,673.34, which rallied over 400 points on Friday after Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party decided to support the Congress-led UPA government.

Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 21.55 points to 5,669.60, weighed down by oil & gas and FMCG stocks.

Overall the market was volatile and the volume has been increasing ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday.

After the exit of Trinamool Congress, the UPA looked confident to come out with more measures to give a boost to the sluggish economic growth. Cabinet committee on economic affairs will be meeting today evening.

Sources say the cabinet members may consider bailout package for state electricity boards (SEBs) that will be beneficial for all companies related to SEBs, hike in sugar rationing, infrastructure projects etc.

Power projects financiers like Rural Electrification Corporation, PTC India and Power Finance Corporation gained 2-5% on hopes of debt restructuring package for SEBs. These stocks rallied over 25% in last 15 sessions.

Bajaj Hindusthan, Shree Renuka Sugars and Balrampur Chini rose 2-3% ahead of the cabinet meeting. Sakthi Sugars shot up 10%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL dropped over 2% while oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC went down 1.6-2%.

Housing finance company HDFC tanked 2.5% and country's largest lender State Bank of India slipped 0.7%. Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were up 1.5% and 0.5%, respectively.

Software services exporter TCS fell over 1% while commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors lost 0.7%.

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra and top car maker Maruti rallied 3-3.6%.

State-run power equipment manufacturer BHEL topped the buying list, rising 6.4% ahead of SEB restructuring plan.

Shares of Jindal Steel surged over 4%. Among pharma stocks, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 1.3% whereas Cipla lost 1.5%.

In the second line shares, Reliance Mediaworks shot up 13% after the company has submitted bid to buy Digital Domain & Mothership and divested entire stake in Malaysia exhibition circuit.

Shares of Goa Carbon shot up 20% and NDTV jumped nearly 19%.

United Spirits rose 6% on likely deal with Diageo for stake sale in the company.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks; the BSE Midcap Index was up 0.33% and Smallcap gained 0.85%.

On the global front, European markets were down as investors shifted their focus from central banks stimulus package to weak economic fundamentals and ongoing debt crisis. FTSE, CAC and DAX fell 0.6-1.6%.

Indian shares were trading marginally lower amid volatility, weighted down by fast moving consumer goods and oil & gas stocks. TCS, SBI and HDFC too were under pressure. However, the upmove in private banks, auto, metals and power stocks capped the downside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 62 points to 18,691.24 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 17 points to 5,674.

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra and top car maker Maruti Suzuki rallied 3.5% each. Steel and power producer Jindal Steel jumped 3.5% too.

Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank moved up 1.5% and 0.56%, respectively while their rival State Bank of India fell 0.85%.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL rallied 6% while oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and ONGC dropped 1-2%.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever tanked over 2.5%. Housing finance company HDFC and drug producer Cipla tumbled 2% each.

Software services exporter TCS and gas transportation services provider GAIL went down 1% each.

The broader markets erased somewhat early gains; the BSE Midcap Index gained 0.5% and Smallcap was up nearly 1%.

On the global front, European markets too were trading lower after business climate data for Germany showed an unexpected drop. Shares had initially opened lower despite talk of leveraging the permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), to give it more capacity to help struggling euro zone economies. (With inputs from CNBC)

The 50-share NSE Nifty continued to move in a narrow range of 5670-5705 as investors awaited the decision of today's cabinet meeting scheduled later in the day. Sources say the topics like restructuring of power sector loans, railway modernisation, and infrastructure projects are likely to be discussed in the meeting.

The BSE benchmark went down 46 points to 18,707 and the NSE benchmark was down 12 points to 5,679.20.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.6% and Smallcap rose 1% as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1602 to 1132 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

State-run power equipment manufacturer BHEL remained strongly on the buyers' radar with 7% gains. Shares of Jindal Steel, M&M and Reliance Infrastructure gained 3-4.5%.

Aluminium producer Hindalco Industries, top car maker Maruti Suzuki and engineering company Siemens rallied over 2%.

FMCG majors HUL and ITC fell 2-2.8%. Drug producers Cipla & Ranbaxy Labs dropped over 2.

Housing finance company HDFC and software services exporter HCL Tech lost 2.5-3%. State-run oil & gas producer ONGC declined over 1%.

The Indian rupee trimmed gains from 30 paise to 4 paise at 53.41 against the US dollar.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were trading flat since early trade while the midcaps and smallcaps outperformed benchmarks with 1% gains.

Investors keenly awaited the next trigger for the market after lot of developments in last two weeks locally and globally - FDI approvals in retail & aviation sectors, hike in diesel price by Rs 5 per litre, exit of Trinamool Congress from the UPA government, Samajwadi Party's support to government, Fed stimulus and positive European cues. Cabinet members will be meeting today in the evening to discuss restructuring of power sector loans, FDI in insurance and health etc.

The 30-share BSE benchmark was down 26 points to 18,727.23 and the 50-share NSE benchmark fell 2 points to 5,689.35. European markets declined 0.5-0.8% in early trade.

Fast moving consumer goods majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were down 2.6% and 3.7%, respectively.

Housing finance company HDFC, software services exporter TCS and drug producer Cipla tanked 1.5-2%. Shares of Infosys and ONGC fell 0.7% each.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank gained 1% each. Power equipment maker BHEL and steel & power producers Jindal Steel & Power retained their top positions in the buying list, rising 6% and 5%, respectively.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro moved up nearly 1%. Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Power and Sterlite rallied 3%.

The market breadth was quite strong; about 1000 shares advanced while 416 shares declined on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, ABG Shipyard, Prestige Estate, Motilal Oswal, Amtek India and Alstom T&D jumped 6-9% while Tulip Telecom, Glodyne Tech, Ruchi Soya, Apollo Tyres and GSFC lost 2.5-5%.

Indian equity benchmarks continued to hover around their Friday's closing values due to lack of triggers locally and globally. The rally in banks, capital goods, auto and metals counterbalanced weakness in FMCG, technology and oil & gas producers.
 
The 30-share BSE benchmark rose 11 points to 18,763.56 and the 50-share NSE benchmark gained 6 points at 5,697.15. Asian markets too were flat due to lack of global cues.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank moved up 0.8-1.6%. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro was up 1.6% and state-run power equipment maker BHEL shot up 6.5%.

Among auto stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki rallied over 2% while Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors gained 1% and 0.4%, respectively.

Metals stocks like Sterlite Industries and Hindalco jumped over 2%; Jindal Steel surged 3.5% while Tata Steel was up 0.8%.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever tanked over 2.5%. India's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys were down 1.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, telecom operator Bharti Airtel, state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC, housing finance company HDFC and coal mining company Coal India declined 0.4-0.9%.

Indian shares remained flat as investors awaited further reforms like restructuring of power sector loans, hike in sugar rationing, raising the cap on FDI in insurance etc. The rally of 400 points seen on Friday seems to have priced in earlier reforms (FDI in aviation, retail etc) announced by the government.

Now after the Samajwadi Party's support the government is set to announce slew of measures to revive sluggish economic growth. There will be cabinet meeting today later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 8 points to 18,745.15 while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 1.3 points to 5,692.45, which ignored the international rating agency Standard & Poor's cut India's GDP forecast to 5.5%.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks as about three shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up nearly 1%.

State-run power equipment manufacturer BHEL was the top gainer with 7% upmove ahead of cabinet meeting. JSPL was up 4.5% and Tata Power gained nearly 4%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rose 1% while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.

Utility vehicle maker M&M, top car maker Maruti and two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp rallied 1-2.5% while commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors was down 0.5%.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were down over 2%. Top software services exporter TCS lost 1.6%.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries, engineering conglomerate and housing finance compay HDFC slipped 0.5-0.7%.

The BSE Sensex opened flat to positive on Monday after rising more than 400 points Friday following Samajwadi Party's support to the government, which indicated that the government may go ahead with further reforms.

But the international rating agency Standard & Poor's did not convince by these reforms announced recently as it has cut India's GDP forecast to 5.5%.

The Sensex fell 55.75 points to 18,697.08 and the NSE declined 16 points to 5,675.15 amid choppy trade while the Indian rupee appreciated 30 paise to 53.15 against the US dollar.

Cigarette major ITC and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro were down 1.4% each.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, software services exporter TCS, private sector lender ICICI Bank and commercial vehicle major Tata Motors slipped 0.5-1%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India, telecom operator Bharti Airtel and utility vehicle maker M&M gained nearly 1%.

Jindal Steel topped the buying list, rising over 2%. State-owned power equipment maker BHEL and private power producer Tata Power were up nearly 2%.

GVK Power surged 4% as Mint reported that the company is seeking 660% hike in aeronautical tariff and also introduction of user development fee.

PFC and REC were up 2-3% on hopes of restructuring of loans given to power sector.

Sugar stocks like Shree Renuka and Bajaj Hindusthan were up 2% each while Sakthi Sugars shot up 7%.

Jet Airways and IRB Infrastructure were down nearly 1%.

United Spirits surged 5.5% on likely deal with Diageo. Jain Irrigation was up 1.6% as the company has alloted 75 lakh warrants to promoters at Rs 86.30/share on a preferential basis.

The CNX Midcap Index rose 0.5% or 37 points to 7,687. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.